1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for continuously recording and reproducing an information signal carrying a video image, an audio sound, and the like to/from a predetermined area on a recording medium.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, hard disk recorders are attracting a great attention as a recording device in which a program provided by the television broadcast or the like is recorded onto a hard disk instead of a video tape. The use of a hard disk as a recording medium allows, for example, a simultaneous reproduction of a recorded program while each program of a desired channel which is broadcasted on that day is being continuously recorded. To realize such a continuous-recording and simultaneous reproduction, a ring buffer area is provided in the hard disk. In the hard disk recorder having such a configuration, the broadcast program received by a tuner is sequentially recorded from a head position of the ring buffer area. When the recording onto the last position of the ring buffer area is finished, a recording position returns to the head position of the ring buffer area and the recording is continued therefrom. That is, each of the broadcasted programs is sequentially recorded by using the ring buffer area on the hard disk circularly. If the user executes an operation to supply a reproducing command for a desired-recorded program during the period in which the above-described operation is taking place, the hard disk recorder reads out the desired program from the ring buffer area and reproduces it while executing the recording operation mentioned above.
Now, assuming that recording capacity of the ring buffer area is determined to be a capacity which allows recording of all of the broadcast programs in one day (24 hours) for example, it apparently follows that all of the programs which are broadcasted on that day can be recorded.
That is, so long as the program is a program broadcasted in the last 24 hours, the program can be reproduced at a later time. However, since information is recorded in the ring buffer area by using the area circularly as mentioned above, if broadcast programs of the next day are subsequently recorded, the broadcast programs of the next day are written from the head position of the ring buffer area so that the previously recorded contents are overwritten. That is, with the scheme described above, the programs broadcasted before the last 24 hours cannot be reproduced.